Traditional circuit-switched communication networks have provided a variety of voice services to end users for many years. A recent trend delivers these voice services using networks that communicate voice information in packets. A communication session in a packet network typically includes two endpoints that together exchange packets of voice information using a compression/decompression (codec) standard supported by each endpoint.
Current voice over packet (VoP) systems utilize static codec selection. If the architecture is based on a central configuration server, this server determines the codec to be used for each call. In a distributed system, the endpoints select a codec that both sides can support and establish a communication session utilizing that codec.